Northern Pikes - Wait for Me
It's Monday again and time for your weekly dose of old man music from Winnipeg, Manitoba. I was going to post something from an American band today but my feelings are a little too raw from Canada's overtime loss in the gold medal hockey game this morning. So we will enjoy (not New Order, but rather) some Cancon from Saskatoon's own Northern Pikes.
The band formed in 1984 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan by Jay Semko, Merl Bryck, Bryan Potvin, and Glen Hollingshead. They released two independent EPs before Hollingshead left the group in 1986, being replaced by Don Schmid on drums. Their first record for the Virgin label was 1987's "Big Blue Sky" which spawned the indy hits "Teenland" and "Things I Do for Money". The video I've linked above is from their followup "Secrets of the Alibi" (1988) and I think it's among the best of the band's catalog.
While Merl Bryck (crush object of some of my female friends back then) left the band in 2006, he was replaced in the lineup by ex-Grapes of Wrath guitarist Kevin Kane, and the Pikes still tour. I saw them in 2021 at a multi-band show with the Jim Cuddy Band (he of Blue Rodeo) and 54-40. They were great, but it wasn't the first time for me. Check this out:
That must have been obtained on their 1991 tour, probably at the Keystone Centre in Brandon, Manitoba (don't be too hard on me, it was 35 years ago and I was 19 years old!). That's the centrefold of their "Snow in June" CD, released in 1990.
Anyway on to the painting. This Monday we have:
- Plague Marines, modern US infantry and Great War French from DavidB!
- Post-apoc and Dark Souls from GavinB!
- Austrian Napoleonics from NormS!
Although this post won't appear until early Monday morning, I'm writing it on Sunday afternoon and the sad from the game this morning persists. However a bunch of the locals are getting together on the ODR to "skate away the sadness" and I'm looking forward to that.
Have a good week all.
Dallas
Jeez Dallas, you lacking in old man creds here. By math I've got 10 more clicks on the Oldometer than you. Great pick. I wasn't a huge Pikes fan in their heyday, but have grown to appeciate them with "maturity". I saw Grapes of Wrath back in their prime and 54-40 when they were just starting out.
ReplyDeleteI feel your Monday pain, two losses in OT. The first one they were within 2 minutes of a win, the second they could have been up 4-1 but couldn't get past the brick wall goalie.
Yeah, Sunday was a bit raw. Great musical pick, Dallas! Northern Pikes were close to home. I saw them early on (1985 I think) in their hometown of Saskatoon. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteCome guys it’s just a game…. Ok I am old enough to remember the days of USSR ice hockey face offs which made the news in old England where the odd person would dream of winning a medal - any medal! Anyway commiserations Dallas and thanks for introducing me to the pikes - 1984 ? I kind of missed them in the uk - here it was the back end of Spandau ballet and ultravox but I seem to remember saxophones-Sade and Joe Jackson
ReplyDeleteIn Finland we only count the total amount of medals from the Olympics (5 out of 6, more than anyone else - including USA and Canada). And you need to remember, that Canada was in the final after narrowly beating Finland in the semis with Canadian referees... ;)
ReplyDeleteOops - at least you have referees we now have VAR and the referees are automatons - it’s true ;)
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